Battlefield 3 multiplayer beta opening later this month

Electronic Arts today officially extended its gilded hand to the masses anxious to get their hands on the publisher’s AAA shooter, Battlefield 3.

Any and all PSN users will be able to get a taste of Battlefield 3 before month’s end via an open beta.

On September 29th FPS fans from around the world will be invited to partake in Battlefield 3’s open multiplayer beta. PlayStation Plus members and others alike will be able to get in without restriction when the beta goes live, assuming of course that the flood of downloads does not shutdown the servers.

Paris, France, the city of lights, will play host for the entirety of the multiplayer beta.

Players [will] work their way from lush parks on the outskirts of the city to a dark, bombed-out metro station, to the vibrant streets around the Paris stock exchange. Two elite tactical units square off in the series’popular Rush Mode. One side takes the offensive by attacking M-COM stations while the opposing squad defends and protects. – EA press release

With just about a month separating the upcoming beta from Battlefield 3’s October 28th (October 25th US) launch one may question how much the development team plans to learn from the beta; perhaps testing the game’s efficiency isn’t the main goal. It seems that betas have evolved from their early PC gaming days. Recent developments in the industry have shown that instituting a ‘beta’ can be an excellent way of working consumers into a fever pitch shortly before a game’s release.

In any event PS3 gamers should mark their calendars for September 29th when we’ll all get a shot to test out Battlefield 3’s FPS and vehicle combat mechanics.

Even if you don’t plan on purchasing the game upon release do you plan on jumping into the beta for a spell? Will your experience in the beta dictate your buying decision?